HC rejects PIL for keeping Hindu wives of Muslims out of triple talaq

The Delhi high court on Friday refused to entertain a petition seeking a directive that “triple talaq” or polygamy should not be applicable to Hindu women who are married to Muslim men.

Acting chief justice Gita Mittal and justice Anu Malhotra said the matter relating to triple talaq is pending before a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court and as such the high court can’t entertain the plea.

The SC will start a day-to-day hearing in the case from May 13, on a PIL filed by some Muslim women challenging the social practice of pronouncing “talaq”, the Arabic word for divorce, thrice, to annul a marriage. The petitioner, a Delhi-based advocate, argued that matter pending before the top court on triple talaq is pertaining to Muslim women and not to Hindu women married to Muslim men.

Advocate Vijay Kumar Shukla withdrew the plea and said he would approach SC. The PIL filed by Shukla had also sought directions for making registration of inter-caste marriages compulsory under the Special Marriage Act or Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act.

The Narendra Modi government has decided to undertake a review of school textbooks. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), an organisation that assists and advises the government on school education, has started an “internal review” of the contents of these textbooks.

Council officials maintained that the review was meant to incorporate the developments in the past 10 years — such as the goods and services tax (GST) and demonetisation.

Over the past two years, changes in textbooks have been controversial.

Several Bjp-ruled states, including Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana and Maharashtra, tweaked schoolbooks in a way that triggered opposition allegations these governments were trying to saffronise education.

Rajasthan trimmed references to the country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Haryana decided to introduce moral education, authored by Dinanath Batra who is affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Others have included study material on RSS ideologues and tried to promote their vision of Indian culture and way of life.

NCERT officials, however, said the review of all textbooks taught from Class I to XII was meant to apprise school children of recent developments.

“An internal review has already started on what contents require changes and to ensure that they keep pace with the changes in the market and surroundings. We have an internal group working on this,” said a senior NCERT official.

Earlier, the Council used to examine and review only those books for which it received feed back, especially history, said sources.

Schools affiliated to the Cen tral Board of Secondary Educa tion (CBSE), Kendriya Vidya layas and Jawahar Navodya Vid yalayas, among others, follow NCERT curriculum.

Officials claimed that the review of textbooks was differen from revising the curriculum which was last done in 2005.

“Demonetisation which took place last year is something tha the textbooks don’t carry cur rently. But this is something tha students have to be taught. Simi larly, if monsoon maps have been updated, they can be included in the books. We will know what al needs to be updated once al books are examined by our offi cials,” another senior NCERT official said.

“Anything that is reviewed and updated is good,” said Ameeta Mulla Wattal, Principal Springdales School, Pusa Road.